This is the third in a 3 part series on how to prevent and overcome seasickness by Greg. Take a look at the first two articles.
Mindset is critical. After all, seasickness is all in your head. No, seriously, it is (and yes, that means it’s all in my head too).
The short explanation for the reason people get seasick is that their mind is attempting to compensate their sense of balance with what they see and feel. (Long explanation here.) On a boat, what people see and feel for motion don’t always line up like they do on land. The mind gets confused in a new environment with odd motions and then wham, down you go.
So can someone literally think them self sick? Yes. Yes they can. That’s another reason for all the preventative methods. Dumbo has his feather and I have my eucalyptus oil. Placebo or not, who cares? It works and I even smell better than Dumbo. The good news is that you can also use the same mental effect to feel better. Though there is no cure for seasickness, I have witnessed time and again people feeling significantly better when forced to steer the boat by hand.
Yes people, the ship’s auto pilot is the enemy here – turn it off. There are a few possible explanations for why this works:
